president obama on the other hand as you know had no primary challenger and as a result, no primary debates. in the newsroom tom fitzgerald, fox 5 news. >> fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin joins us tonight. it's always great to see you. >> good to be here, shawn. >> how important are these presidential debates and do they really make a difference? >> if you look back in history, i think there have been two that have been deciders in terms of candidates, 1960. i watched that first debate john kennedy on the stage with richard nixon and he was considered the winner of that on tv, not on radio, but that's where people were watching and then i think in 1976 in terms of a major gaffe when gerald ford who the president, hadn't been elected, richard nixon resigned, said that there was no domination by the soviet union of eastern europe. those are the two highlights, but that's a very rare occasion where a debate actually determines an election. >> let me ask you about this. both candidates seem to be praising each other lowering debate expectations. we're hearing mitt romney has been rehearsin